Every so often, it is important to remember some of the great ideas that president Obama has brought to the American people. Today, I want to focus on the money that Obama put in the Stimulus bill in 2009 for construction of high speed rail systems. To date, the federal government has paid about ten billion dollars to finance the construction of such systems.
Let's start by looking at the many high speed rail systems now in operation nearly five years later. Here is the list:
1.
That's not a typo. There are none.
Let's look at the actual high speed rail systems under construction. Here is a list:
1.
That's not a typo. There are none.
Well let's look at the actual high speed rail systems where some design work has been undertaken and which are continuing towards completion. Here is the list:
1. California has invested ten billion more of its own taxpayers' money and is moving towards construction of a segment of high speed rail which is basically in the middle of nowhere.
That's right. The only true high speed rail line moving ahead after all that money has been spent is one that travels through the farmland of California's Central Valley. It is supposed to be part of a line from Los Angeles to San Francisco, but even when complete, it will still be hundreds of miles short of that goal.
Remember when Obama told us all that high speed rail was a great stimulus for economic development? I guess that the same people who convince him of that gem must have gotten the contract to design the Obamacare website.
To be fair, some of the federal cash is going towards improving the right of way on existing Amtrak lines. These improvements will let a few trains that now operate almost empty increase their speeds by 10 or 15%. The end result won't be high speed rail, however. No one will want to go by rail between Chicago and St. Louis in five hours just because it used to take six hours for the trip.
It is important to keep the wonders of Obama's high speed rail dreams in mind as he starts once again to make speeches about his great ideas for growing the economy. Basically, his ideas all boil down to throwing money at the dream of some professor drinking sherry in the faculty lounge. They have little to do with reality.
Let's start by looking at the many high speed rail systems now in operation nearly five years later. Here is the list:
1.
That's not a typo. There are none.
Let's look at the actual high speed rail systems under construction. Here is a list:
1.
That's not a typo. There are none.
Well let's look at the actual high speed rail systems where some design work has been undertaken and which are continuing towards completion. Here is the list:
1. California has invested ten billion more of its own taxpayers' money and is moving towards construction of a segment of high speed rail which is basically in the middle of nowhere.
That's right. The only true high speed rail line moving ahead after all that money has been spent is one that travels through the farmland of California's Central Valley. It is supposed to be part of a line from Los Angeles to San Francisco, but even when complete, it will still be hundreds of miles short of that goal.
Remember when Obama told us all that high speed rail was a great stimulus for economic development? I guess that the same people who convince him of that gem must have gotten the contract to design the Obamacare website.
To be fair, some of the federal cash is going towards improving the right of way on existing Amtrak lines. These improvements will let a few trains that now operate almost empty increase their speeds by 10 or 15%. The end result won't be high speed rail, however. No one will want to go by rail between Chicago and St. Louis in five hours just because it used to take six hours for the trip.
It is important to keep the wonders of Obama's high speed rail dreams in mind as he starts once again to make speeches about his great ideas for growing the economy. Basically, his ideas all boil down to throwing money at the dream of some professor drinking sherry in the faculty lounge. They have little to do with reality.
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